Has Anyone Successfully Stretched His/Her Back?

[haha]

I only WISH that I was that slender and strong! If I had thighs like that, I'd use them as my avatar! Thanks for the flattering mistake...

You really wouldn't want to be showing thighs like that to a bunch of horndogs like us, now would you? Such torture!

Ha

 

[W2R]

I think you lascivious young guys could probably control yourselves if shown an avatar like the one below. No boots or anything!

 

[TromboneAl]

If I had thighs like that, I'd use them as my avatar!

I think there are better uses.

 

[W2R]

I think there are better uses.

Yes, doing stretches like the one illustrated is a great way to use them.

Anyway, as you peruse her thighs notice that both feet are flat on the ground and facing straight forward. Usually I think I end up bending the bent knee more, with the legs a little closer together. Experiment until you feel that tug in the upper thigh of the un-bent leg.

 

[haha]

I think there are better uses.

Horndog uno has been located.

Ha

 

[TromboneAl]

One Month Update

I've now been stretching twice per day for one month. That's about 10 hours spent stretching.

I've only gained a little flexibility compared with the two-week point, based on my hamstring stretches.

As W2R predicted, it has made a significant improvement in how I feel. This is most evident for a few hours after stretching. My joints seem more lubricated, and things like putting on socks or just bending down seem easier. I now always put on socks standing up as an exercise in balance and flexibility.

The pectoralis stretches combined with chin tuck exercises make it seem easier and more comfortable to have good posture.

I can't say that it has helped in preventing back discomfort following playing the piano without a backrest, which was my main goal, but perhaps that would have been worse had I not stretched.

My plan is to go to one stretching session per day, or perhaps one after each piano practicing session.

 

[GregLee]

I now always put on socks standing up as an exercise in balance and flexibility.

I do that, and I also do some exercise every morning standing on one foot, and spend some time standing on my toes. Looking down the road about a decade, I'm thinking that an important part of staying healthy and active into old age is not falling down and breaking a hip. We know that is a typical problem of the elderly. I want to keep my balancing muscles in good trim for a long, long time.

 

[W2R]

As W2R predicted, it has made a significant improvement in how I feel. This is most evident for a few hours after stretching. My joints seem more lubricated, and things like putting on socks or just bending down seem easier. I now always put on socks standing up as an exercise in balance and flexibility.

Yay!!! I should try putting on my socks standing up. I do take them off standing up, but that's easier.

The pectoralis stretches combined with chin tuck exercises make it seem easier and more comfortable to have good posture.

I can't say that it has helped in preventing back discomfort following playing the piano without a backrest, which was my main goal, but perhaps that would have been worse had I not stretched.

My plan is to go to one stretching session per day, or perhaps one after each piano practicing session.

I am so glad that you have incorporated stretching into your routine and that it is having some positive effects for you, even if it doesn't prevent back discomfort. For me, it is a great help and results in feeling younger and more capable (always a desirable outcome for me). Plus, it greatly diminishes my hip pain and similar symptoms that I thought were just the effects of aging.

 

[steelyman]

While I am fortunate to have not yet experienced any back pain, about ten years ago I picked up a video and poster from a company called Human Kinetics, which is a university spinoff started by a professor of kinesiology. I've used many (not all) of the stretches pre- and post-workout. I'll add this reference link to the thread:

Flexibility for Sport and Fitness Video (NTSC)